Amankora

Impermanence

‘Every day brings something new.’ For 15 years, since he came to Bhutan as general manager of Amankora, John Reed has awoken to fresh discoveries that bind him to his adoptive country.

On the first few days after arrival, guests’ strongest impression of the Himalayan kingdom is usually of the drama and majesty of its mountain landscape, but the longer they stay, the more profound is their realisation that the magic of Bhutan runs deeper than its glacial valleys and plummeting slopes. For John, it is the country’s culture of open-hearted compassion that proves most transformative. That culture is rooted in the tenets of Buddhism – in particular the concept of ‘impermanence’: the understanding that nothing is forever, everything is a cycle, and our time on this earth is limited – and all the more wonderful for it. As John shows in this film, learning to appreciate – even celebrate – impermanence can open our eyes to beauty and our minds to wonder.